Flora of North America species comparison

(5)20-40 (50) cm, geniculate.

4-120 cm, erect to decumbent, rooting at the lower nodes, sparingly branched near the base.

glabrous, smooth, uppermost sheaths sometimes inflated;

ligules to 7 mm;

blades (1)3-9 (14) cm long, 0.5-5 mm wide.

usually no more than 5 per culm, basal and cauline;

sheaths open, smooth or scabridulous;

auricles absent;

ligules membranous or hyaline, acute to broadly rounded, erose, ciliate;

blades flat to convolute.

(1)2-8(15) cm, narrowly ellipsoid, dense, sometimes lobed, often purplish;

pedicels to about 0.5 mm, capillary;

stipes 0.1-1.2 mm.

terminal panicles, dense, continuous or interrupted below;

branches flexible, usually some longer than 1 cm;

pedicels absent and the spikelets borne on a stipe, or present and terminating in a stipe;

stipes scabrous, flaring distally;

disarticulation at the base of the stipes.

1-5 mm, weakly laterally compressed, with 1 bisexual floret;

rachillas not prolonged beyond the base of the floret.

1.8-3.2 mm, hispidulous basally, hairs sometimes strongly inflated and obtuse, apices lobed, lobes 0.3-1.2 mm, more than 1/6 the length of the glume body, awned from the sinus, awns (4)7-12 mm;

lemmas 0.5-1.5 mm, unawned or awned, awns shorter than 1 mm;

paleas subequal to the lemmas;

anthers 0.4-0.5 mm.

exceeding the floret, lanceolate, bases not fused, apices entire to emarginate or bilobed, usually awned from the sinuses or apices, awns flexuous, glabrous, sometimes unawned;

lemmas 1-3(5)-veined, often awned, awns usually terminal or subterminal, sometimes arising from just above midlength;

paleas from 1/3 as long as to equaling the lemmas;

lodicules 2, oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate;

anthers 3;

ovaries glabrous;

styles separate.

slightly flattened, broadly ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid;

hila 1/6 – 1/4 as long as the caryopses, ovate, x = 7.

= 14.